Spiced Chai Quilt Along // Week 1

Welcome to the first week of the Spiced Chai Quilt Along! [Don't worry, I actually have finished my Summer Sampler 2017 quilt, I just haven't posted photos of it yet. Possibly because I just finished it yesterday!]

Grab your copy of Vintage Quilt Revival, and let's get started!I know this seems like a pretty ambitious schedule--the good news is--the quilt is simple to piece.  Additionally, if you want to move faster or slower, that is perfectly fine!

Also--join the Facebook group!

Easy way to keep up with what everyone is doing :)

Spiced Chai Quilt Along Schedule

WEEK 1

Gather fabric, cut out the blocks, + make the mega block

This week, we are gathering/purchasing fabric, cutting out the quilt, and piecing the mega block. I usually make 1 test block before I cut out all of the blocks, to make sure I like the fabric, etc. If making test blocks is your style, then do that before cutting out the entire quilt.Make the mega block this week, too. This is the colorful block pictured above, which is made up of 4 Tea Leaf blocks and a large white square.I also like to make the binding at this step. It is purely psychological, but I find I have less lag time between quilting and binding if I pre-make the binding.

Check out Instagram for Updates--@swimbikequilt + #spicedchaiquiltalong

Mega Block spiced chai quilt

This quilt along will be mostly Instagram based, so make sure to follow along @swimbikequilt, and also with the hashtag #spicedchaiquiltalong. If you post photos of your own quilt along progress, whether that is photos of pretty fabric stacks, in progress blocks, shots of your design wall/floor/table, photos of your quilt top, and/or the finished quilt, please tag me @swimbikequilt and use the hashtag! It is so much easier to follow along with everyone's progress that way, and provides the fun, interactive part of the sew along!

Spiced Chai Quilt Along

My fabric choices

I am using prints from Denyse Schmidt's new Washington Depot line--lots of quilt shops still have it, and it is similar in color and feel to Chicopee, also by Schmidt, which I used in the original Spiced Chai Quilt.  I didn't have quite enough fabric in the remnant bundle of Washington Depot that I purchased, so I'm adding in some prints from Florence, an earlier line.I am also going to switch things up. In my original quilt, the "mega block" was prints and the background blocks were various shades of gray. This time, I'm going to use colorful prints for the background blocks, and the mega block will be gray or black.

I can't decide if I'm going to use white or some of the Washington Depot low volume prints for my background. What do you think?

Spiced Chai Background Choices

SpicedChaiKatieQuilt

VintageQuiltRevival

Pattern is in Vintage Quilt Revival [for sale here]

The Spiced Chai quilt pattern is found in Vintage Quilt Revival--I have a few signed copies in my shop ($27.99 + free US Shipping) if you still need a copy. Invite your friends to quilt along with us, and happy sewing!